'The Last Of Us' Fans Are Still Pining For Nikolaj Coster-Waldau As Joel

Naughty Dog and HBO's adaptation of The Last Of Us has finally found its Joel and Ellie, and we'll see Pedro Pascal take on the role of the grizzled and reluctant guardian of Ellie, who will be played by Bella Ramsey. The reaction to the castings has been nothing short of rapturous, but there's a portion of fans who had someone different in mind for Joel.

The Last Of Us TV show had languished in development hell for about six years before HBO hopped on board (it was even going to be a film at one point). That gave players plenty of time to cast their favourite actors as the characters. Hugh Jackman and Dafne Keen were a popular choice for Joel and Ellie, owing to their stellar performances as Logan and Laura in the final film in the Wolverine trilogy. Due to her resemblance to the character, fancasts of Kaitlyn Dever as Ellie did the rounds, and she proved that she's able to bring warmth, vulnerability and sassiness together in her roles in Booksmart and Unbelievable. Another actor who was on the cards was Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, who is most well-known for playing Jaime Lannister in Game Of Thrones.

Happy to take on intense and emotive roles? Check. Experience in cinematic fight choreography? Check. Passable American accent? Check. On paper, Coster-Waldau is a neat fit for the character of Joel, and with fans from all over the world and from all sorts of genres, people were keen on him pulling on that iconic green flannel shirt and knocking some skulls together. Nevertheless, fans' grand plans were caught on a small snag: in order to play their favourite hardened survivor, Coster-Waldau has to audition for the project, he has to be offered the role, and he has to say "yes."

Maybe some of these steps happened, maybe none of these steps happened. Into The Spider-Verse actor Mahershala Ali was reportedly in the running for the character of Joel, but that evidently fell through for whatever reason. I know it might be heartrending not to see your expectations realised, but Pedro and Bella are bound to do a tip-top job bringing Joel and Ellie to the small screen. Reviews of Pascal's performance in The Mandalorian are extremely positive, and though Ramsay's career is just beginning, she's got a legion of fans owing to the impact she had on Game Of Thrones and His Dark Materials. The decision is done, and we wish the two actors all the best on the show.

So, we've got our Joel and we've got our Ellie, but there are another handful of characters still to cast. A penny for our thoughts? Head to our dream cast list for The Last Of Us here. There might even be a familiar face to be found there. Of course, there's also a slim chance that Abby, one of the playable protagonists from the second game, will appear in the adaptation. She's roughly the same age as Ellie, so why not cast Theresa Laib? Her first professional role was in the horror film Havenhurst, so she's got the chops for the grittier scenes in The Last Of Us. Also, I can't put my finger on just what it is, but she's got an Abby vibe to her.

Topics: News, The Last Of Us